The Shining Ones
by AndromedaAccent
Summary: The Shining Ones are: Pixie, Were, Faerie, Elf, And one other... Druid.  An ancient folk, almost legend. Zara needs to unite all the Shining Ones, but what happens when they find her first?
1. Alegen

**Author's note: Heya I've tried my hardest to keep this as accurate to the books as possible. Hopefully this should follow straight on from Entice, but with my own twist of course. Hope you like :) **

**The Chapter is called 'Alegen' which is Old English for 'Confined'- I am not an Old English Expert, merely using an online dictionary and trying to get my head around singular, plural and accusative adjectives. The translator I am using is: .uk pretty self explanatory. It's for any of you who want to follow along with this story- but please don't start messaging me saying my translations are wrong because it's my story and I can do whatever I bloody well like. Reviews appreciated. Thanks. x x x loves**

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><p>The fire's embers had burned really low, I was on the point of getting up and fetching more firewood- then I remembered I wasn't to be let out of anyone's sight. Bummer. So I snuggled closer to Issie and closed my eyes as I sighed 'So what's the plan then?'<p>

Nick was back, but he was still out of it. Whatever the gods had done to him to make him forget his time up there in heaven or wherever, was really taking its time. I just wanted to see him open his eyes and... on second thoughts no I didn't. He had no idea that I was a pixie. All the explaining I had done in the halls of Vallaha had been forgotten by him. Not by me, not ever. I will always remember that look in his eyes- that look of hatred as he stared at my pixified form. It didn't matter to him that I looked the same, like it did for Issie. He could smell the pixie on me. He knew. Just how I knew that when he got one good sniff at me once he woke up it wouldn't matter that I was Zara. Now I was human enemy number one- a pixie.

I didn't think I would be able to stand that look again so for the time being I was avoiding going in the spare room- where he was sleeping. I didn't want my smell to be the first thing he sensed when he woke up.

'Well...' said three voices at once. Gram, Mum and Devyn had all started at the same time. They looked confusedly at one another. I sat up and pointed at Gram. 'You first' I said

'Well..'she continued 'We need to wait for Nick to wake up' Mum and Devyn nodded at this. So far so good. 'Then we need to get a battle plan together to get rid of this evil pixie king' more nods 'then we need to find a way to get you depixified' Mum nodded, Devyn looked awkward but obviously agreed.

'What?' I exploded

'Dear, it's just no good you being pixie' said my Mum 'you need to go back to being a normal girl. You don't want to be a..a..' I knew she was trying hard not to say the word "monster".

'Pixie, for the rest of your life' she completed

'You can't agree with them?' I appealed to both Cassidy and Issie but to my horror they both looked sheepish and guilty at the same time

'Zara, we..we...It's not that we hate you or not like you being pixie, but this is _forever_' said Issie

'And who knows how long pixies live for' added Cassidy.

Well if it was anything to go by, Astley's charming mother was way over a _hundred _I thought, but didn't say.

'Just think' said Devyn 'All your problems would be solved if you weren't pixie. You wouldn't have to hide who you are. You could get rid of that bothersome king...'

'If you mean Astley...' I interrupted

'And you could be with Nick' he finished.

There it was. The big, horrible, ugly, obvious point. I could be with Nick. Nick. Nick my boyfriend. Nick who I went to a whole other world to save, at the cost of my own father and dear, sweet Mrs Nix. Yeah, that Nick. The one who was currently snoring in the spare room.

Don't get me wrong. I love him. I didn't go through all of that for nothing. I love him. I do. Only, there's that whole thing with Astley. I mean he's good looking, he cares about me, he's done so much for me and oh, yeah, I kissed him. Oh shit. I. Kissed. Astley.

Well, to be fair he kissed me back. But still, I cheated on Nick! But maybe it doesn't count if your boyfriend is in another world. Maybe. I dunno.

That is a whole pile of mess which I'd rather not think about now. Ditto with the depixifying.

'Zare?' asked Issie sounding concerned.

'I don't want to talk about this right now' I replied

'But' started Devyn

'NO!' I said, perhaps a bit more forcefully than I'd anticipated. Everyone's reaction was one of shock. Ooops. 'I'm going for some fresh air' I said moving towards the door. I'd just seen a familiar silhouette framed against the window.

'Wait!' said a chorus of voices but I didn't turn around to look. I opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. Astley was waiting for me. He held his arms out for a hug. I went to him gratefully, allowing myself to be enfolded in his strong arms. Nick or no Nick, I felt safe with my pixie counterpart.

'How are you?' he asked

'Fed up' I replied 'Did you know that they want to turn me back into a human?'

'What?' he exclaimed

'Is that even possible?'

'No' he sighed, then paused before 'Do you want to be human again? Do you regret becoming my queen?'

'No' I answered truthfully. 'I feel stronger than I did when I was human. I am able to protect my friends and the people I love. I...I... can cope better than when I was human. There seems more space in my brain to deal with all this...stuff' I finished lamely.

Astley squeezed me in reply. It was comforting; he was the closest person to understanding what I was going through. But even he didn't know everything; he was not a female pixie, formerly a human and now a queen. But he was close enough. I doubted Nick would understand, he wouldn't give me a chance, he would react instantly then his pride would prevent him from changing his mind and attitude.

Just then there was a commotion inside the house. Astley and I turned around quickly. I threw the door open and strode back inside. Astley waited on the threshold looking in - Gram still hadn't given him permission to enter.

The scene before me was confusing.

Cassidy was scrunched up with her hands out in front of her. She was standing beside the fireplace and the flames which before were on the point of dying were now flaring high up the chimney. The heat they were giving off was scorching.

Issie was curled up on the couch, her eyes were wide with terror staring at Cassidy.

Gram was poised to attack, but you could tell she was as confused as I, not knowing what was going on.

Mum was like Issie, shocked at what was going on.

Devyn was the only one making any noise. 'We're under attack!' he yelled 'They're using magic; Cassidy stop them!'

'They're too strong' Cassidy said out from gritted teeth. She looked like she was in pain, her hands were shaped like they were trying to push something back. She was muttering half formed spells, but had to keep breaking off because whoever was trying to penetrate the house was countering. If the flames roaring in the grate were anything to go by then the enemy was much more powerful.

'Who is it?' I shouted

'It's. Not. Pixie' managed Cassidy, before she gave a great heaving effort and collapsed to the floor. The flames immediately died and a cold draft blew into the room.

We could only stand in shock.


	2. Awregennes

**A/N: Awregennes means 'a discovery' in Old English. Thanks for reading! x**

Issie and Mum rushed over towards Cassidy's crumpled form on the floor trying to revive her. Gram immediately started stalking catlike around the living room checking for any signs of penetration from the unknown enemy. Devyn came towards me but was looking at Astley 'What the hell was that?' he demanded

'I don't know' said Astley looking worried. 'Believe me I do not know. But she was right' he said nodding towards Cassidy's limp body, 'It was not Pixie, nor anything else I have experienced'

'Is she alright?' I asked mum and Issie

'She's just fainted' replied Mum

'She sensed them right away though' said Issie 'She ran towards the flames as soon as they started going crazy and was then trying to block the magic'

'She was not powerful enough' growled Gram

'She stopped them though, didn't she?' I asked

'I don't know' Betty replied

As if in answer, the flames in the fireplace rose up again. Tongues of flame were lashing as the confines of the grate. Embers were snaking into the room

'Jeezum!' shouted Gram. She grabbed Cassidy, still spark-out and removed her from the clutches of the overwhelming heat. Everyone backed off. I tensed, waiting for the unseen foe to enter the house; I was prepared to fight to protect everyone whatever the cost.

But nothing happened.

Well obviously something happened but it wasn't what I expected.

The flames rose higher and higher, they were burning so brightly it was as if the sun was contained within the fireplace. But no evil pixie or sprite flew out of the grate to attack us. Heck if Father Christmas had come down the chimney it wouldn't have surprised me as much as what did happen.

A flame suddenly spat out into the room and something white fluttered to the floor. The rest of the fire slowly settled down and returned to embers.

Everyone remained silent. We were frozen in position facing the hearth.

I made the decision to investigate. I carefully edged forward, planting my feet so I was ready for a surprise attack at any moment. Nothing came out, no evil spirit, no Frank, no Valkyrie. I reached out for the white object lying on the carpet speckled with charcoal. It was a tattered piece of paper. I held it up for the others to see. Devyn immediately came forward and inspected it.

'Good quality paper, a bit burnt at the edges. Looks like someone's written a message'

I unfolded the paper- it had been creased into quarters. Words had been written in ink across the top, it was a flowing script which looked old fashioned. It read:

'_No shit Sherlock'_

I could only gape up at Devyn as he too looked in amazement at the words.

'What the..?'

'What is it?' asked Issie. She stepped over towards us and I showed her the message scrawled on the ragged paper. Gram and Mum also came and investigated once they had laid Cassidy down on the couch.

'Erm anyone want to tell me what's going on?' said a voice from outside. Oops. I'd forgotten about Astley. I told him what was written on the paper. He sniggered.

'What's so funny?' I asked

'Well after the Were's little detective moment just then with the paper, it is quite ironic' laughed Astley, a big grin on his face.

His smile was so infectious I tried hard not to emulate it. 'That's not funny Astley' I said untruthfully.

'It so is' he replied laughing harder now.

I turned my back on him to consult the paper again. To my surprise it was now blank. There was no message. No ink stain. Nothing.

'What!' I exclaimed 'Where the hell did the writing go?'

'What! Where?' said Devyn trying to grab the paper from me. I swung it out of his arm's reach.

'Hey!' I shouted 'Be careful'

'Sorry' apologised Dev. I brought the paper back; to my astonishment there were now some words written on it. It was the same ink, the same loopy writing. It read:

'_Now, now, play nice children' _

I read the words out loud. The others looked at me lost for words.

'Now say it sarcastically' called Astley from his position on the door step. I glared at him.

'If there's something you know and we don't' I said in my most sarky tone, 'please enlighten us'

'Oh no,' he said smirking 'This is too much fun!'

'Why you!' I shook my fist at his arrogant form. I was frustrated. What was going on? Astley was still laughing but stopped abruptly as Gram strode over to him and stood blocking the doorway threateningly.

'Now look here you arrogant, little...' Astley at least had the sense to look worried 'snot for a pixie' finished Gram. I felt so proud of her- she really was terrifying.

'Okay, okay' said Astley palms upwards indicating surrender. He explained: 'It's an enchanted piece of paper. It's so fae can communicate- I've seen it done with slabs of slate. This is a more modern version of it that's all.'

'Oh' I said. I looked down at the paper. This time I could see the words appearing on the smooth surface. It was as if an invisible hand was writing, it said:

'_Oh indeed'_

I read this out loud too. Astley snorted 'Whoever it is has a cracked sense of humour'

'_I heard that pixie king' _

This time it was my turn to laugh as the unknown writer's words were set down in ink on the paper in my hand. I told the others what it said. Astley grunted. Then said 'Hang on, they can _hear_ us?'

'What the hell?' said Devyn

'I've never heard of that being possible' said Astley 'I thought the process was that both parties wrote down what they wanted to communicate and just the words were transported'

'And now sound is being transferred as well' I said

'_Correct'_ the paper confirmed

'How is that possible?' Gram asked

We all looked towards the paper for the answer, sure enough it didn't disappoint and the words were soon flowing across the paper explaining:

'_I tampered with the original spell'_

Was it just me or did the tone indicate a hint of guilt? The words soon disappeared and were replaced with:

'_It is made possible by combining the word __**oferlád**__ with the word __**wordhleofor**__. But it is limited, I cannot, for instance hear the sound of a musical instrument'_

'Bummer' I said

'_Indeed'_ replied the paper '_Is my explanation good enough for you?'_

'Hang on a minute,' said Devyn 'How do we know if we can trust you? We don't even know who you are'

'Yes' agreed Mum 'You could be an evil pixie for all we know'

'_I am not pixie'_ said the paper

'Well then what are you?' asked Issie

'_I am druid'._

This was met with silence.

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><p><strong>AN According to my Old English Translator the word **_oferlád _**means transportation of letters or language. The word **_wordhleofor _**means specifically the sound of speaking voice.**


	3. Nigontíne

**Nigontíne is the Old English word for Nineteen, sorry it's been a while coming x**

I stared at the others.

'What's a druid?' hissed Issie

'Dunno' I said. I looked at the others, all of them wore blank faces. I glanced towards Astley.

'Bad news' he said

'What do you mean bad news?' I asked

'_Yes what do you mean bad news?' _said the paper- even though it couldn't talk.

'Druid...druid..' murmured Devyn, thinking 'Hey! Wait a minute!'

'They're the fifth Shining One' said a groggy voice, we turned around, and it was Cassidy.

'Cassidy!' squealed Issie rushing over to her and giving her a hug. 'How are you feeling?'

'Terrible' she replied 'So, all that magic was just to transport a piece of paper?'

'A _magic_ piece of paper' said Astley grinning again. I threw him a dirty look.

'That still doesn't answer the question' said Gram tersely. 'What is a druid?'

'Like she said' Astley replied 'They're the fifth, often forgotten about, Shining One, and they're bad news.'

'Why?' I asked

'Well, Druids and Pixies, well...we don't get along' he said

'You're enemies?'

'Of a sorts' I had the feeling Astley was uncomfortable talking about the subject. I let it drop.

There was a lull in the conversation which was pierced by Gram's pager going off.

'Oh damn, I'm needed at the hospital' she said after reading the message. 'I don't want to leave you but I've gotta go. Things are still up in the air with the missing boys.'

'I'll drive you' said Mum 'We need to stock up on supplies'

'Mum it's not safe' I protested

'Damn right it's not' said Betty 'But she'll be fine in my car, it smells of Were. In the meantime,' she said staring around at us all 'Do NOT I repeat, DO NOT leave this house, find out all you can about this druid person, but STAY SAFE'

'We'll try' we all promised.

Mum and Gram both grabbed their bags as they left the house, kissing me on my head before they went. We could hear the car reverse out of the drive and they were gone.

'Right' said Devyn. 'Let's interrogate this Druid'

We all gathered round the kitchen table, it was the closest surface we could gather round and be near the door, near Astley.

We stared at the paper; it was being unusually quiet. I couldn't quite believe that there was someone, somewhere, writing on the paper and the message was being transported to us. This was it; we could finally get some information on the fifth shining ones, the elusive Druid. Just the word sent a little thrill down my spine. What were they like? Were they nice? What did they look like? Astley had said Pixies and Druids didn't get along, what had he meant? Were they evil? I knew I was too trusting but the sarcastic humour the paper had already displayed must mean they couldn't be evil, surely? We were about to find out.

'What is a Druid?' asked Devyn out loud, enunciating each word carefully.

Sure enough the loopy, flowing script came back almost immediately forming the words for us all to read.

'_As the Pixie King said, we are the fifth Shining Ones, but more commonly known as the ancient priestly class that once ruled Gaul, Ireland and Britain'_

'There are more of you?' asked Issie

'_Certainly' _replied the paper.

This wasn't going anywhere; of course there were more than one I thought angrily.

'What is your name?' I asked, the more direct we were; the better. There was a pause, as if the person at the other end was unsure whether to reveal that information. But then the writing came back spelling:

'_My name is Catkin __Béamsceadu, but you may call me Kate'_

Wow was that a mouthful, it sounded like the bold words the paper mentioned earlier. Cassidy was mouthing _Béamsceadu, _trying to work out what it meant, 'As in shadow?' she asked

'_Shade of a tree actually, but not bad, halfling' _said the paper- yes I know it can't talk but you know what I mean.

'How do you know I'm part elf?' asked Cassidy suspiciously

'_It was your magic protecting the house and you were the one trying to block my spells'_ said the paper- Kate accusingly.

'Oh' said Cassidy 'How come you're so much more powerful?' she asked

'Hey' I said comfortingly 'The magic only got through once you were unconscious, good going girl' I was trying to make her feel better but I didn't feel it was working.

'_I've been practicing longer'_ came the dry reply

'So we're dealing with a Druidess?' drawled Astley from the doorframe 'Great, the worst sort' I shot him a dark look, trust him to be wary of the other sex.

'So...er...Kate' started Devyn 'You're a Druidess?'

'_Obviously'_ said the paper dripping with sarcasm even though it was only a word on a scrappy piece of paper.

'How old are you?' Astley asked Kate the Druidess, I looked at him curiously, what a question to ask! He caught my glance and said in hushed undertones 'Druids are different, they breed differently and they live much longer than anyone else, except perhaps Elves.'

'_Breed_ differently!' I exclaimed – quietly-

'Yes' he whispered back. Pointing at the paper he said louder 'What's the answer?'

Issie read the message aloud: '_I am nineteen'_

Astley's eyebrow went up, 'How long have you been nineteen?' he asked

The paper paused.

'_Two Thousand, one hundred and eighty two years,'_ the mysterious Kate replied

'What?' I screeched- yes there is sadly no other word for it: screeched- looking wildly around at the others.

'Holy mother of...'

'Jeezum!'

'Wow'

'Humph' snorted Astley, he was seemingly unimpressed.

'Astley' I said 'What part of TWO THOUSAND YEARS do you not understand?'

'Well by Druid standards it's pretty young' he replied back

I could only gape.

'Why are we even bothering asking an unknown and potentially dangerous Druid about their culture and race when you seem to know everything?' asked Devyn pointedly

'Good point' I agreed

'Well...' Astley looked uncomfortable 'I don't know everything...'

'Well then shut up and stop being sarky' I said sarkily.

Devyn sniggered.

'Can we get on with this?' asked Cassidy anxiously 'I want to know more' she whispered afterwards

'Okay...Kate...whatever your name is..' great start Zara I thought 'Give us the low down on the Druids. Where you're based, how many of you, what you look like and,' I paused, 'On a scale of one to Voldemort how evil are you?'

'Wow' said Issie 'Zara's gone into army general mode'

'That's my Queen' said Astley proudly


	4. Ofersæwisc

**Ofersæwisc** is the Old English word for foreigners across the sea. Hope you like x

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><p>We gathered round the paper expectantly and sure enough, Kate the Druidess didn't disappoint.<p>

'_In answer to your first question Pixie Queen, I live in Great Britain'_

'Where's that?' asked Issie

'England' replied Devyn

'_Great Britain__' _scrawled the paper, the underline was heavy with ink. Kate was obviously irritated. _'People always seem to think Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are irrelevant'_

I looked in disbelief at the others, gosh, someone was touchy!

'I assure you they are not'said Astley from the doorway, smoothing things over with his liquidy voice, it gave me tingles and my gaze lingered on him for a while, admiring the way the evening sunset light cast a glow on his face. I snapped myself out of this reverie before it got too silly, all I felt for Astley was companionship, nothing more; he was my king. That was all I hoped silently, crossing my fingers behind my back. It was Nick I loved. Nick... Sigh.

'_Hmmmmmm_' Devyn read aloud the reply from the piece of paper. There were a few moments of pause, where I wondered if Kate was going to reply or not then came then came the words '_In answer to your second question, there are about one thousand of us with druid blood running through our veins_.'

One the one hand that seemed a lot, enough to fight Frank and his evil pixies, on the other hand, it was a small amount compared to how many pixies there were. I knew from Astley there were several thousand spreading across the globe.

'_I'm not quite sure how to answer your third question or your fourth' _hesitated the Druidess

'Seems like Druids don't read Harry Potter' whispered Issie

'Okay so now we know a bit more about you' I said ploughing on, who knew that interrogations went on this long? 'But why do you know so much about us?' I asked

'Good question' murmured Astley. I felt proud of myself for taking control of this unusual situation.

Kate replied with '_Well, I heard some interesting stories coming out from across the Atlantic, and the only name I could pick up on was 'princess' so I performed a rather complicated spell to divine the source and it came up with you, Zara- the word for princess. But you are also now a Queen, a Pixie Queen, a potential enemy. I was then ordered to find out more, so here I am'_

'Ordered by who?' asked Astley

'_My superiors. And don't ask me to reveal anything more than that or else I will be in great trouble'_ replied Kate.

I sat back on the chair next to the kitchen table. I needed some time to think all of this through; Kate the Druidess had revealed a lot, a lot more than I had expected, but we still didn't know very much. I had the feeling she wasn't going to elaborate much further for whatever reason; maybe because she wasn't allowed or maybe because she didn't trust us. I certainly didn't trust her completely. This was all so unexpected, so out of the blue. Once again I felt out of my depth in the supernatural world. First Pixies and Weres; then Valkyries and Vallaha; and now Druids, of which we knew almost nothing about. I was annoyed by the lack of information we had, I hated not feeling completely in control. The Druids knew more about us than we about them. And their magic was powerful, which scared me more than I wanted to admit, we could not afford to make anymore enemies and having the Druids on our side would help a lot. But they were an old race and could do, it seemed, whatever they wanted.

As if reading my thoughts Astley interrupted 'Well, thanks Druidess, we are beholden to you. We need some time to sift through the information you have so graciously parted with, please excuse us as we take our leave from this enlightening conversation'

'_Ah, so Pixies are able to carry a civilised conversation after all_.'

'I have some manners, Druidess'

'_Well, depart with my blessing Pixie King... you will need it' _and with that the paper folded in on its self and transformed into a small, round, perfectly smooth pebble. Which, after close inspection, had a design carved into it.

'It's a rune' said Cassidy. 'Although I don't know which one or what it means'

'Well...' Devyn said, a bit lost for words. He picked up the stone and ran his fingers over the hard surface, 'It's warm' he said in awe 'It's not cold to the touch'. Issie gently reached out for the pebble and rubbed it between her palms.

'Yes' she agreed 'It's so smooth and warm, like a hand-warmer!'

Whilst the others were having a good time passing round the grey flecked stone I rounded on Astley, 'What was that you were saying, all that nonsense towards the end?'

Astley shrugged from his position on the door step, 'Doesn't hurt to have some manners'

'Manners was it?' I almost growled

'Yes, Zara,' said Astely exasperatedly 'Kate's of the old world, she's lived through the Romans, the Saxons, the Normans, countless revolutions, civil war, under kings, queens and tyrants...' He sighed and rubbed his forehead 'I thought I would at least be polite.'

Cassidy's eyes were round as she gazed at Astley, trust her to be a history bug. 'Really?' she asked 'All that? How do you know?'

'Doesn't hurt to know where we come from' replied Astley

'We?' I asked incredulously

'Yes, _we_ Zara' he said a bit disgruntled 'Sorry I haven't had time to fill you in on all our people's culture, but we are descended from the European Pixies who crossed over with the British and the Spanish'

'What about Weres Mr-I-know-everything?' queried Devyn

'Were origins are harder to track down, _you_ are probably descended from the indigenous Native Americans going by the fact that your bird is rarely found anywhere other than this continent'

Issie's eyes were also very wide now.

I threw my hands up in the air 'Honestly Astley, _share_ these things with us in future rather than making it an extreme effort to get information out of you, you're like a clam!' I accused moving to stand in front of him.

Astley grinned that infuriating smirk at me. He was really pushing my buttons now, I grabbed hold of the front door handle and made to slam the door in his face, when I saw a dark figure out in the yard behind him. I didn't need to see his face to know who it was, the spidery feeling running up and down my body was warning enough. I yelled something inarticulate and pointed a shaking finger out towards the evening night. Astley turned, he saw immediately who it was, he swore and blocked the doorway with his body. Great. Now I couldn't see anything. The spider feeling got worse; I could feel hairy legs scuttling up and down on my skin. Goosebumps appeared. I tried to make Astley move, but then Devyn barrelled past me and out of the door.

He was going to charge the evil pixie king Frank down, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.


End file.
